PanGas officially opens new air separation plant in Basel/Muttenz

Trade News

Basel/Muttenz, 23 May 2011 - PanGas AG, a Swiss affiliated company of the Linde Group, has constructed a new air separation unit (ASU) at Muttenz in Basel, with a total capital expenditure of 68 million Swiss francs. PanGas officially opened the plant on 20 May 2011, with guests in attendance.

The new ASU produces the high-purity air gases oxygen, nitrogen and argon for customers in Switzerland as well as in the markets of Southern Germany and Northern France. The operation at the ultra-modern plant is a transnational affair: specialists at Leuna, the German chemical site, are working closely in remote collaboration with the qualified employees on site in Muttenz.

"The new air separator enables us to increase supply reliability, particularly for chemical and pharmaceutical enterprises in the border triangle of Switzerland, Germany and France. Above all, with this investment PanGas is emphasising the tie between this location and its customers in the region," explains Bernd Eulitz, CEO of PanGas AG.

The Linde Group has invested 68 million Swiss francs in the air separation plant in Muttenz. Applications from local businesses for the construction of buildings, building infrastructure and streets on the 13,000-square-metre plot were given priority. From the outset, the air separation plant was planned with the ROC operation in mind. Management and supervision of the highly complex technology is carried out by specialists at the Remote Operation Centre (ROC) at Leuna in Germany, who work closely with their colleagues based on site in Muttenz.

This set up enables more efficient production in Muttenz: daily output for the production of gases is approx. 360 tonnes of nitrogen, 140 tonnes of oxygen and seven tonnes of argon. What's more, 50 tonnes of gaseous nitrogen are produced every day.

The liquid gases are delivered to companies in Switzerland, Northern France and Southern Germany. Infrapark Baselland is connected directly to the new air separation plant by pipeline and provides the various chemistry and life sciences companies on site with a secure and reliable supply.

PanGas celebrated the official opening of the plant with customers, business partners and guests from the region on 20 May 2011. Peter Zwick, member of the cantonal government for Basellandschaft and Renaud Spitz, CEO of Clariant (Switzerland) AG emphasised the significance of the new air separation plant for the industry in the border triangle of Switzerland, Germany and France. Linde Group management was represented by Professor Dr. Wolfgang Reitzle, CEO of Linde AG, Dr. Aldo Belloni, Member of the Executive Board of Linde AG, and Bernd Eulitz, CEO of PanGas AG.

The Linde Group is a world-leading gases and engineering company with around 48,700 employees working in more than 100 countries worldwide. In the 2010 financial year, it achieved sales of EUR 12.868 bn. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards long-term profitable growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services. Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. Linde is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.

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